Brendan Schaub is going all in on Robert Whittaker to beat Khamzat Chimaev.
On Saturday, June 22, Chimaev will return to the Octagon for the first time since scoring a majority decision win over former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. This time, he’ll attempt to take out ex-middleweight king Robert Whittaker in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event.
Robert Whittaker will face Khamzat Chimaev in Saudi Arabia on June 22, Dana White announced. pic.twitter.com/RdHKvNTkd7
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 28, 2024
Looking ahead to the massive 185-pound clash in Riyadh, the former UFC heavyweight standout is an admittedly big fan of the undefeated Chechen monster. Despite that, Schaub will be going all in on ‘The Reaper’ when the two men headline Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
“I’m a huge Khamzat fan,” the former fighter said on his podcast, The Schaub Show. “With that being said, Robert Whittaker is the worst matchup for Khamat — especially five rounds. And I would assume that Whittaker is the underdog. Chimaev is -160, Whitatker is +140. That line is going to change. Definitely bet on Robert Whittaker.
“Now, can Khamzat win? Absolutely, but this is a massive jump up in competition for Khamzat at middleweight. Even at welterweight, this is by far the toughest fight and he seemed to have some cardio issues [against Kamaru Usman]. If that fight had been five rounds, there was some argument that Kamaru was just turning it on [in the third]. That could have gotten dicey for Khamzat. Now you’re fighting a true middleweight and one of the best of all time. He’s only lost to Izzy and DPP — that’s it.”
Khamzat Chimaev is a perfect 13-0 in his mixed martial arts career with seven of those wins coming inside the Octagon. A majority of his victories came while competing at welterweight, but a massive mishap on the scale ahead of his scheduled scrap with Nate Diaz at UFC 279 forced ‘Borz’ to move up to 185.
As for Whittaker, the longtime fan favorite has been dominating the division for a decade, having only lost to Israel Adesanya and current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. He added another big win to his resume in February, defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 298. If he can manage to derail Chimaev’s hype train, he will likely land himself another crack at the 185-pound crown.
“The reason I put money on Robert Whittaker is because I know what Robert Whittaker is going to bring to the table,” Schaub added. “We just saw him have a great performance against Paulo Costa. When it comes to Khamzat, I don’t know. The verdict is still out. Whittaker we know is a first-class bonafide Hall of Famer right now. With Khamzat, there are still a lot of questions and this is going to answer a lot of them.”
Brendan Schaub Weighs In on Sean Strickland Rematch Controversy
Speaking of the middleweight world title, Brendan Schaub offered his take on the current situation involving and infuriated Sean Strickland who has been clamoring for a rematch with Dricus Du Plessis ever since their razor-thin split decision at UFC 297 in January.
Strickland surrendered the belt to DDP, coming up short on two of three judges’ scorecards. However, many pundits remain adamant that ‘Tarzan’ did enough to leave with his title intact that night — including UFC CEO Dana White.
“If you’re doing what I think is right, you’re doing Strickland vs. DDP,” Schaub said. “When the champ is kind of screwed over like that or it’s a super controversial decision — nobody got robbed, but I think Strickland won that fight, but if it’s even up for a debate, [Strickland] deserves the rematch.
“That’s how it should go. You don’t just move on and you risk giving Strickland some monster and he falls further back in the queue. His name is bigger than ever. He didn’t get knocked out. He didn’t get outclassed. A lot of people think he won, including me.”
Strickland has criticized the UFC for forgoing an immediate rematch between the two in favor of a heavily rumored clash between Du Plessis and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya, though no official announcements have been made.
Watch the full episode below:
